CIS Cup update

Well, the SPL title might look done and dusted already, but fortunately the CIS Cup is keeping things interesting. Celtic were already out, beaten on penalties by Falkirk on Tuesday, but that shock result has already been eclipsed by the extraordinary stories from the remaining two quarter finals last night.

One of the most pleasing developments in recent years has been the resurgence of the Edinburgh derby. The Old Firm clashes remain the biggest fixtures in Scottish domestic football, but it's healthy for the game overall that other matches now qualify for the "big game" billing. With Hibs having a terrible record against Hearts in the League Cup, and Hearts struggling at their rival's ground in recent years, last night's game promised much.

As it was, Hibs won with embarassing ease, and will wonder this morning how the final score was only 1-0. They were good, taking control of the game after a typically frenetic opening 15 minutes, but they were helped by an abject Hearts performance. Once again, their tactics and line-up was baffling, with no Brellier in the squad and no threat up front. The baggy-shorted Hartley roamed all over the pitch to try and get his team going, but eventually he faded after being asked to do too much on his own. Meanwhile, Hibs realised early on that they could simply feed the ball to Ivan Sproule any time they wanted to, and let their winger run at a hopelessly exposed Jose Goncalves at left back. Goncalves was - along with Hartley and Craig Gordon, again - Hearts' best player, but he had no support from Mikoliunas ahead of him or anyone else. By the time Mikoliunas was replaced, on 65 minutes, Hearts were ragged and looking beaten.

At Ibrox, meanwhile, Rangers were dumped out of the cup 2-0 by 1st Division St Johnstone. If the crowd of just over 30,000 was a worry to those in charge, it was nothing compared to the way the stadium emptied before the final whistle, as the fans left in disgust. A few hundred stayed on to stage a protest outside the ground, but many others probably decided there was no point. The manager is admitting he has serious problems, the chairman David Murray wants out, and the fans aren't turning up in the usual numbers. Le revolution is going badly wrong.

All this means that Hibernian are now being proclaimed as favourites for the League Cup, but this is being disrespectful to Kilmarnock, who are the other club through to the Semis. They have been more consistent than Hibs this season, and will fancy their chances in this competition. Either way, a club outside the top 3 is going to win a trophy this season.